june bloom designs

the first batch of pillows are ready!   more styles are posted on www.junebloomdesigns.com                 

i had so much fun creating these and i still have more fabric to go :) my etsy shop will be up and running soon!

enjoy your weekend! 

blog sugar

wow!  what an event!  i’m new to the blogging world, so i decided to attend blog sugar to get an idea of how to promote my new business june bloom designs.  i knew that there are a lot of “bloggers” out there, however i had never realized how connected and emotionally invested everyone becomes after years of reading each other’s blogs.  i expected to see a lot of individual bloggers, but what i saw instead was a UNIFIED group of women (and man J )!  it was such a wonderful experience to see these women who have been following each other’s blogs for years, finally meet in person!  i helped out during the registration process and was amazed to see how many women traveled from across the country to come to blog sugar!  i even met a few women who came straight from the airport! 

rachel put on a great event – everything ran so smoothly & on time (which with such a large group of women was quite an accomplishment!).  the decorations were lovely & the desserts delicious!

i enjoyed each of my sessions and am definitely motivated to get going with my blog and website.  at the end of the night, what struck me the most is that we all have a voice.  sometimes it feels like our vote, or our opinion doesn’t really matter.  it seems like we are in the minority when it comes to our views or morals.  i’ve been wrong – we do have a voice that can reach across the world.  i truly believe that i have gone through some difficult "seasons" in life, not only to mold me into a better person, but to help someone else that may be going through something similar.  i feel like some of my pain will be wasted if i keep all of my struggles to myself and not share them with anyone.  blogging can give me the opportunity to share my story.  sure there may not be a lot of people reading my blog yet, however if god wants someone to read what i’ve written – HE will bring them to my blog.  i just need to quiet my mind, listen to him, and write what’s on my heart. 

thanks for the motivation ladies and i look forward to seeing you all in 2012 J

santa barbara

jake and i recently had an entire weekend to ourselves!  it had been quite some time since we were “kid free” – so we jumped at the chance to go to santa barbara for the weekend.

we stayed at a great hotel right across from the beach and walking distance from state street. 

the hotel provided bikes for us to use, so we rode around for a few hours exploring the beach as well as the neighborhoods.

one of my favorite parts about vacation is having no time schedule.  we made a point to not look at our phones and avoided checking the time.  so freeing to just randomly walk around, wander around shops, as well as stopping at pubs or restaurants along the way.  no kids – just us.   so nice for a break and a chance to just focus on each other.



yum – homemade potato chips with gorgonzola!



   





such a great time!  we hope to go back again soon :)

adventures in bike riding

so i discovered this morning that in the mere three days that i have been riding the electric bike to work  i have become quite accustomed to it.  this morning started off like any other, i loaded my bag into my basket and took off for work.  i was even a little chilly since i was letting the electric portion do the work – so i stopped to add another layer of clothing.  i hopped back on the bike and twisted the handle to kick in the battery...... nothing happened.   surely i must have just hit the off button, so i tried it again.  still NOTHING. 

have i mentioned that the electric bike is quite a bit heavier than standard bikes?  i usually only pedal roughly 1/3 of the way to work since i figure i’m still getting a great work out with the added weight.  there i sat on my bike - in my big black helmet and double sweatshirts - realizing that i was going to have to PEDAL the ENTIRE way to work.  a little over 4 miles at this point.  ok - so i'm a little dramatic - but it's EARLY in the morning and i didn't want to have to work THAT hard. 

i made it, but have to admit it was TOUGH.  i caught myself continuing to twist the handle, hoping that the battery miraculously charged on the way.  no such luck.  i was a sad sight - walking my bike into my parking lot - since i couldn't bring myself to pedal up one more hill.

i’m tired.

my legs are rubber.

i’m thankful for driveways (any downhill is awesome).

strangely after 5 days of riding to work – i’m still completely out of shape  - what?

but i made it – and was even on time :).

wisdom for the day – always ALWAYS charge your bike battery the night before!

busy bee

i found some great fabrics at the fabric district last week!  i’m so excited to finish my pillows for my shop:)  saturday was my first official day of creating products specifically for my shop.  it was so exciting to be crafting for someone else – not just something for use in our home!  i’m also working on some candle holders and picture frames. here’s a sneak peek of some of the fabrics:

i attended blog sugar last night.  it was so much fun!  such an amazing group of women who not only consistently write on their blogs, but also run successful home businesses.  so inspiring!  next on my list – figuring out how to use twitter!  should be a fun week :)

hope your monday is great!  i know i’m LOVING this gloomy weather.  if only i was home enjoying a cup of hot cocoa and watching this:

or this….

oh well – something to look forward to tonight!

counting blessings

blessings. its easy to overlook them.  we get caught up in daily life, get sucked into the negativity causing our focus to be misplaced to things in this world, instead of focusing on what god has blessed us with.  i’m guilty of this. i start to replay nasty phrases in my head “why is life so easy for _____ while we’ve had to struggle” or “if only we had _____ everything would be so much easier”.  i see my kids beginning to take on this type of attitude as well “all of our friends have ____”  or my favorite  “all of our friends have an iphone – why can’t i have one!”

it makes me sad – actually sad isn’t a strong enough word for what i feel.  god has given us so much – we have a roof over our head, we’ve never had to miss a meal, we have two healthy kids, after 16 years together jake & i are still madly in love with each other, we both have jobs, we have a wonderful family and an awesome group of friends….i can go on and on.  yet – my mind seems to shoot straight for what I FEEL is lacking according to the world’s standards.  yes, we have experienced loss, more than most people we know, however we have also experienced god’s GRACE, his PEACE, his FORGIVENESS and his LOVE.  he has never left us.  even at times when we feel lost or scared, HE is ALWAYS there – waiting for us to seek HIM. 

we are starting a new tradition in our family….at dinner we are going to each say what we are thankful for in as much detail as possible.  i’m going to purposely look for the blessings throughout the day.  actively looking for blessings  - makes you notice the beauty in the world –not just the negativity. 

yesterday, jake came to meet me at work to ride home with me.  something simple, but sweet.  i’m so thankful to have him in my life.  he makes me smile and is always there to support me. 

James 1:17 (NIV)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

how do you focus on the blessings in life?

change of pace

in august my husband, jake & i were absolutely giddy….our car was paid off!  hooray!  now we were down to only one car payment.  then one cloudless beautiful day – i turned on my car – and the engine light was on.   i was sure that it’s no big deal– the car is only 5 years old – so nothing “major” could be wrong with it, right? WRONG.  the dealer quoted us over $3500 in repairs to our car.  what?  seriously – we literally just paid the thing off.  so we shrunk the list down to what was most important – and managed to get the total below $3,000.  we considered this an investment – because this car is a VW and will last us “forever” right? WRONG.  not even a week later – the engine light came on again.  this time it was the fuel pump.   SERIOUSLY?!

so even though our life is a bit crazy with our 2 kids & 6 animals – we willingly decided to make it a little crazier by changing things up a bit.  after much prayer and discussion, jake & i decided to sell our car and downsize to a one car family [gasp].   in any other part of the world this probably isn’t that big of a deal, however to our southern california family it will be quite a change of pace.  jake and i determined that it would be a financially sound decision to downsize to one car (after almost 14 years of marriage – i guess there’s a first time for everything :) ).   thanks to my amazing sister-in-law allison for the use of her electric bike – this is how I now start my day in the morning:

things i like about riding my bike:

·         SAVING MONEY – yay!  Now I’m saving gas money + almost $1,000 a year on car insurance. 

·         i feel GREEN – ok i have to admit – i do enjoy not using a car for such  a short commute

·         OUTSIDE TIME!  after sitting at a desk for a good part of the day – some days not even stepping outside between the hours of 8am-4pm – it feels SOOOO good to just spend some time outside.  in fact i adjusted my route so i could enjoy the scenic ride instead of taking a slightly shorter route.

·         SLOW DOWN – i have the habit of rushing every time i’m in the car – i’m impatient around the slow drivers and always seem to be in a hurry.  riding a bike has forced me to slow down a bit and to enjoy my surroundings.

·         taking myself less seriously.  can i tell you that i still feel like a kid – totally embarrassed & self conscious wearing a helmet?  this morning however i took a look at myself in the mirror and had to laugh.  no need for jake to be concerned with someone “checking me out” – i was dressed in grandma sweats, a bright yellow sweatshirt and a huge helmet.  hmm – not the most attractive way to go to work – but my protecting my noggin is more important :)

realistically i know for the long term we will not be able to remain a 1 car family – but our goal is to try to make it for 1 year.  jake & i are fortunate to both work less than 5 miles away from home – so we thought that we might as well give it a try!  plus with riding 50 miles a week – i might even get into shape (that is if i don’t let the electric function of the bike take over J )!

happy riding!

i love the fall!

around this time every year my husband and talk about how much we miss living on the east coast.  there really is no comparison (at least in southern california) to the mountains filled with trees with leaves so bright it’s hard to believe they are even real.  i remember sending my sister a picture of the trees and she thought i had photo shopped in the bright red color.  we lived in maryland for almost 3 ½ years and absolutely LOVED the changes in season.  we do have a few trees in our neighborhood in california that change color every year, but we still don’t get quite the same feeling as we did in maryland.  here are a few pictures that we look at every season to get into the fall mood :) 

i wish we had a better camera - because this

picture really doesn't do the leaves justice. 

but hey - it was 2002 & it was our first digital camera :)

 i can't believe that my babies are now 11 & 13!

enjoy the season!!

noelle